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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG 



A TREATISE UPON THE DOG, WITH INFORMATION AS TO 

THE VALUE OF THE DIFFERENT BREEDS, AND 

THE BEST WAY TO CARE FOR THEM 



BY y 

GEORGE B. TAYLOR 



/^ 




SEP 16 189]' 
VV * 

NEW YORK 
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 

MDCCCXCI 



:X2A 



Copyright 1891, by 
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 



v^ 

^ 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction. 

The Improved Taste in Dogs, 

Your Dog Must Fit Your Home, . 

Poor Men's Dogs here and in England, 

An Objectionable Dog Ordinance System 

Beware of Mongrels as Pets, 

Classes of Dogs of Race, 

Dogs that are fit for City Life, 

The Giant Pets of Race, 

Our Home Dog, 

The Choice and Cost of a Dog, 
Having Chosen the Dog, 
Installation of the Pet, ... 
The Dieting of a Home Dog, 

Ablutions, 

Cropping, Docking and Other Mutilations, 

Muzzles, Chains and Harness, 

Quarters and Training for the Larger Dogs, 

Training the Home Dog, .... 

Ailments and Nostrums, 

Breeding and Consanguinity, 

Some of our Dog Breeders, 



14 
21 
29 
33 
34 
Z^ 
45 
47 
48 

50 
54 
58 
61 

63 



DEDICATION. 



To the Westminster Kennel Club of 1877, the 
women who were exhibitors at its first Bench Show, 
Charles Lincoln, the Rev. J. Cumming Macdona, 
William Lort, Esq., F. R. G. S., and to all whose efforts 
to improve and elevate the dog have been crowned 
with such eminent success, this unconventional treatise 
is dedicated. 



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INTRODUCTION. 



" Between two dogs ******* 
Good faith I am no more than a daw." 

Henry VI. 

This little work will not treat of the dog, man's dumb 
friend, as a sporting or a fighting animal, but will dis- 
cuss it as a companion of the human race and a guar- 
dian and ornament of the home. Those who delight 
in the pugnacity of certain breeds and the cultivators 
of " freak " dogs are not friends of the noble animal 
and have no place here. 

The author is mindful of Shakespeare's caption, but 
if you possess a dog, gentle reader, you may in these 
chapters discover how the better to care for it. If you 
contemplate owning one, remember "Mr. Punch's" 
"advice to young persons about to marry, 'Don't'!" 

Do not own a dog — unless you are prepared to treat 
it, in a certain sense, as one of the family, to give it 
" All the comforts of home " and, in more ways than 
one, be its patient, faithful servant. Be also prepared 
to submit to not a little inconvenience in shaping out 
its daily life in order that, instead of a nuisance, it may 
become a healthy, joyous creature that will have a 
lasting hold on your affections. 



MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG, 



THE IMPROVED TASTE IN DOGS. 

America is becoming nice in matters canine ; she has 
got beyond the " Peter Bell," the " yellow primrose " 
period of fifteen years ago. There was a time, and not 
so very long since, that newspaper wits — Heaven save 
the mark 1 — made the columns of the press less dreary 
with stories in which the stock dramatis-personae were 
invariably a kicking mule, a fool, a "gal," an old sinner 
and- — " a yaller purp." Bench shows have done much 
to give old and young object lessons in respect for the 
once despised animal, and good taste has brought 
women, not only to admire dogs of race, but to own and 
breed them and to contend for recognition as success- 
ful breeders at exhibitions all over the country. 

These women are not of the " Brush, comb and ban- 
doline " class that predominates around the cages of 
the wretched " toy " or " freak " dogs at exhibitions. 
They belong, as a rule, to the brightest, best cultured 

I 



2 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

and noblest girls and women in the country and their 
interest in dogs is not a "fad," but earnest and to last. 
Evidence of this may be had by comparing the cata- 
logues of the first bench shows with those of the pres- 
ent time. When fifteen years ago Miss Penniman, 
Miss Bessie R. Webb, Miss M. D. Wagstaff, Mrs. R. 
A. McCurdy and Miss E. T. Pratt, of New York, had 
the courage to place their favorites on exhibition, they 
felt a little abashed when they saw their names in the 
catalogue and in the newspapers. Now women whose 
names figure in reports of society gatherings, meetings 
to further humanitarian aims and educational schemes 
and as patronesses of art, music and drama, vie with 
men of their rank in exhibiting what they can do in dog- 
raising. It is no exaggeration to say that this is evolu- 
tion and the test of the feeling of to-day and of 1877 is 
well illustrated by one fact. When the Rev. J. Gum- 
ming Macdona, of Cheadle rectory in Cheshire, Eng- 
land, one of the Queen's chaplains, came here in 1877 
to exhibit the champion Irish setter, " Rover," and to 
judge four classes of dogs at the first bench show of 
the Westminster Kennel Club, all sorts of paragraphs 
and comments appeared in the newspapers and the gen- 
eral verdict was that he was a sporting parson and one 
of the Prince of Wales's "set." That year the entries 
numbered 1191 and there were many exhibits that would 
not pass muster to-day. This year there were 1375 
entries and few of the animals were inferior exhibits. 



YOUR DOG MUST FIT YOUR HOME. 

As you should cut your coat according to your cloth, 
so should one choose a dog. How do you live .'* Have 
you a room as your home, a flat, a house in a crowded 
neighborhood, one in a quiet street, or a suburban resi- 
dence } Have you a yard or a flat roof where you can 
exercise a dog or stables } Do you own a carriage so 
that you can take your pet out for an airing and turn it 
on the road where it will annoy none and not be voted 
a nuisance or a dangerous animal by "canophobists".? 
Your dog must fit your house. In the country all 
things are possible in this way ; only you must look out 
for the prejudiced and the envious and their strychnine 
and arsenic. A St. Bernard would be just as much out 
of place in a bandbox flat in a city as an Alderney bull, 
and a delicate Blenheim spaniel would hardly care to 
rough it in the back woods. 



POOR MEN'S DOGS HERE AND IN ENG- 
LAND. 

In all the large towns in England, and notably Lon- 
don, Manchester and Liverpool, the poorest artisan or 
clerk can — and generally does — possess a dog, and 
takes such care to get one of pure race that the pet is 
often a source of income, not only because its progeny 
are valuable, even when just weaned, but also because 
its owner invariably puts the animal in competition for 
prizes, not often at bench shows, but usually at gath- 
erings of dog fanciers who go to them with their favor- 
ites under their arms. These contests are often in 
liquor saloons or rather in the rooms adjoining the 
bar, and of course there is much drinking over the 
event. The dogs exhibited, are, as a rule, fighters, 
"varmint" killers and "toys," but often men who live 
by their day's labor exhibit dogs of race that are as 
fine and pure as those shown at the grand exhibitions. 



AN OBJECTIONABLE DOG ORDINANCE SYS- 
TEM. 

A BAR to such a custom in a great city like 
New York is the reckless, inadequate and absurd 
dog ordinance, which is protection that does not 
protect. Its enforcement is in the hands of ruffi- 
anly, blackmailing " Thugs," who have no respect 
for a license tag or a leading chain or for a 
delicate woman or child. They commit outrages 
every week, in the name of the law, because — to make 
their calling pay — they must in one way or another 
snatch up so many animals at thirty cents a head. 
The ordinance was due to the love of the poor man 
for the dog, and an ignorance of the evil of harboring 
mongrels, and the advantage of keeping nothing but 
animals of distinct race. These poor mongrels multi- 
plied until they overran the streets and the popular- 
fallacy cry of hydrophobia brought about the passage 
of the ordinance. Now the mongrels are scarce, and 
the "hoodlums" who are licensed to enforce the law, 
prey on the well bred animal. 

A better law would be one imposing a high dog-tax, 
5 



6 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

and this strictly enforced or the scattering of poisoned 
meat to the homeless curs, would protect dogs worth 
keeping and do away with animals that are really 
nuisances. When America attains to " a higher civili- 
zation," women and children will be safe from moles- 
tation when promenading with their pets, and there 
will be a place set apart in Central Park where 
there is a grass range and water for dogs to run un- 
challenged. With this boon may come the doing away 
of the prejudice which excludes dogs from public con- 
veyances. 



BEWARE OF MONGRELS AS PETS. 

No one would plant weeds in a window box or a 
flower garden. Why have mongrels as pets ? " Be- 
ware the mongrel," is a good rule for dog lovers. An- 
other is, " Beware ihe puppy'' and the friend who gives 
you a dog. If you buy a puppy, it is an act of faith, 
unless your purchase is made on a guarantee of un- 
blemished race from a dealer of undoubted honesty. 
It is nice to v;ean and raise your own dogs, but an an- 
imal that is a year old has the advantage of having 
passed the period in which it is both a nuisance, by 
reason of inherent mischief loving and dirty tenden- 
cies, and also the age at which many dogs succumb to 
various ailments. When a dog is a year old, many of 
its race characteristics are plain and it learns to love 
and obey just as quickly as a puppy. Of course, if 
you own adult animals, you are sure of the purity of 
their progeny and the risk of being cheated does not 
exist. The animals so brought up are doubly valuable. 



CLASSES OF DOGS OF RACE. 

" Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men 
As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels,, curs 
Shoughs, water-rags and demi-wolves are 'clept 
All by the name of dogs : the valued file 
Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, 
The housekeeper, the hunter ; every one 
According to the gift which bounteous nature 
Hath in him closed. — " 

" MacbethP 

If we take the breeds of clogs which are worth car- 
ing for and making friends of, because they are of dis- 
tinct race and reproduce their kind and because they 
are fitted for this climate, they can be divided into the 
following classes : 

Large and Field-sport dogs, the majority requiring 
grooming, water and a range. 

First : Field-sport dogs ; setters of the various 
breeds, such as Irish, English, Gordons, Laveracks and 
Llewellyns. 

Pointers of the heavy and light classes (over and 
under 55 pounds). 

8 



CLASSES OF DOGS OF RACE. 9 

Hounds, including Slaghounds, Bloodhounds, Fox- 
hounds, Harriers and Beagles. 

Greyhounds, including Deerhounds. 

Spaniels, including Irish, Water, Clumbers and large 
Cockers (Springers). 

Retrievers, including Chesapeake-Bay dogs. 

Second : Show or watch dogs. Great Danes, Mas- 
tiffs, St. Bernards, rough and smooth-coated, Newfound- 
lands, Russian Wolfhounds. 

Small, or rather, house or — still better — home dogs. 

First : Field sport dogs ; Spaniels, small Cockers 
of both liver and white and black varieties and Dachs- 
hundes. 

Second : Non-sporting ; Fox-Terriers, rough and 
smooth-coated, Bedlingtons, Black and Tan, Bull-Ter- 
riers, Yorkshire s, Dandie Dinmonls, Irish-Terriers, 
Scotch-Terriers, Skye-Terriers, Collies, Italian grey- 
hounds, Poodles, Pugs and Lap Spaniels, including 
Japanese, Blenheim and King Charles. 

It will be observed that the above list does not con- 
tain the names of some races that are known, such as 
Esquimaux, Spitz, Coach-dogs, etc. This last breed 
was never fit to be the pet of any one but a stable man. 
It is simply a show dog possessed of a cross disposi- 
tion, but handsomely marked and the continuation of 
a " fad " that made it an appanage of a rich man's es- 
tablishment. The other dogs could be tolerated if 
they could annually meet the fate of " L'homme \ Tore- 
ille cassee " from May to October. They are Arctic 



lO MAN'S FRTEND, THE DOG. 

creatures to whom life is only worth living with the 
thermometer at from 65 degrees to where alcohol 
freezes, creatures of the snow and ice floe who are 
miserable in warm weather. 



DOGS THAT ARE FITTED FOR CITY LIFE. 

We all have more or less the sporting instinct and it 
is, of course, pleasant to own a dog that may be at the 
same time a companion and a guardian, and also a 
friend in the field. It is very hard, however, in 
cramped quarters to properly keep one of the large 
sporting dogs. It is all right as long as the shooting 
season lasts. As soon as it is over, the dog returns in 
fine condition to its home to be petted, overfed, and 
spoiled. Instead of hunting birds, and keeping " in 
form ", it hunts slippers, plays with the babies and 
becomes aldermanic from eating between meals. A 
pointer or a setter may very easily be kept in a house 
if feeding promiscuously can be prohibited, and if it 
can be given a wide range every day. 

The pointer, by the way, does not suffer so much 
from absence from water as the setter, and for this 
reason prairie chicken shooting is almost always over 
pointers. They can be watered from a keg and only 
need water every half-hour. With the setter it is 
different. Its comfort, almost its existence, depends 

n 



12 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

on its having free access to water while in the field, 
and no setter summers well and is fit for the field 
in the fall, unless it has been taken to water where 
it can bathe at least once a week. Of course, even in 
a flat, it could be soused in the bath tub, but there is a 
line to be drawn somewhere, and most women draw it 
at dogs using the place where they bathe. 

Still, as has been said, it is possible to keep a setter 
or a pointer in close quarters in New York, provided 
always that the animal has a run twice a day. Ten 
times a day would be better. A yard or a flat roof 
helps matters wonderfully. 

Of the hounds, the Dachshunde and Beagle are more 
easily kept in close quarters than their larger brethren, 
but they must have exercise and must not be pam- 
pered. It is almost impossible to keep a Greyhound 
or a Deerhound in a large city. Their life is in their 
speed. They must have exercise to live. Not so the 
spaniels. Nearly all of them make admirable home 
doss, even the Irish and the Clumbers. Retrievers and 
Chesapeake dogs are not house dogs. 

The man who wishes to keep a Great Dane, a 
Mastiff, a St. Bernard, a Newfoundland or a Russian 
Wolfhound should have special quarters for it. The 
best home for one of these immense animals is a 
stable or an outhouse, and it is hardly possible to 
keep one in good condition without employing an 
attendant to minister to its wants and to give it its air- 
ings. Even then, in a great city, the animal would 



DOGS THA T ARE FITTED FOR CITY LIFE. 1 3 

suffer. It would have to be promenaded on a chain, or 
let loose, so muzzled as to render it miserable. Large 
dogs are not fitted for large cities. They may be 
ornaments, but they become spirit-broken unless they 
have freedom, exercise and access to water. 

Of the smaller dogs several are specially fitted for 
city life and thrive though " cribbed, cabined and 
confined. " The best ? Well, this is, naturally, a mat- 
ter of choice. Some choose one breed, some another^ 
but the all-round, home dog for a large city is a 
terrier whose coat shall be neither woolly nor silky. 



THE GIANT PETS OF RACE. 

" 'Tis sweet to hear the watch dog's bark, 

Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw near home." 

Byron. 

The great show or watch dogs referred to, Danes, 
formerly known as Siberian or Uhn dogs, Mastiffs, 
St. Bernards, Newfoundlands and Russian Wolf- 
hounds are more ornamental than useful, if we may 
except what they may do as watch dogs and, in the 
case of the Newfoundland, the possibility that it might 
save a life from drowning. All are fitted for the coun- 
try ; none flourish unless they have large, airy quarters, 
constant exercise and some access to water. The 
Danes and Mastiffs, when their savage instincts are 
developed, are dangerous and ferocious beasts, not to 
say man eaters. 

Indeed the Dane, when kept by a German, is not 
regarded as fit for watch service or as a body guard, 
unless trained '^ on the man. " It is taught that the 
throat of a marauder or its master's enemy is the 
target for its teeth and there are special professors in 
large cities who instruct this race in the art of spring- 

14 



THE GIANT PETS OF RACE. 1 5 

ing at the most vulnerable part of a biped oppo- 
nent. 

It is in the blood of the animal to do this. It did 
it in the days of ancient Rome, for if one race of dogs 
has preserved its characteristics as to form, as depicted 
in sculpture and sketches which antedate the Christian 
era, it is this haughty, fierce-looking animal, which is 
not always to be depended upon even by its master, 
especially if it has come into his possession when adult. 
Well trained, it is the best of big watch dogs and a 
picturesque addition to a country establishment. 

The Mastiff, too, is not of modern creation. A 
century ago noblemen in England came to be jealous 
of their Mastiff kennels and to hoard their stock. 
Cast iron restrictions were put on their servants and 
dependants so as to prevent a single animal capable of 
reproducing the strain from leaving the kennels. If 
one was given away, it was either a female, not gravid, 
or an emasculated dog. The race was bred " in and 
in " without heed of the perils of consanguinity and 
the result was the preservation of the strain, so that it 
was kept as pure as that of the Godolphin Arabian, but 
the animals ran down in form and to jaw malformation. 

A quarter of a century ago the absolute necessity of 
new blood in the race to -prevent utter deterioration, 
compelled those who owned the best stock in the 
world to introduce strange sires and dams into their 
kennels and to sell or give their dogs to others equally 
in want of new blood. Amon^: other kennels thus 



1 6 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG, 

broken up was that of Baron Grantley of Bramley 
in Surrey, which had held animals that the Sovereign 
could not have at a king's ransom. So the breed 
rapidly improved and the result was that in 1887 Mr. 
A. A. Brown sent here the famous '* Norma," " Mable " 
and " Saxon II." to snatch honors from dogs that had 
not been reared under patrician auspices. The Mas- 
tiff, with its negro-black head, fawn colored, supple 
body, and magnificent frame, inspires as much respect 
as admiration. As a rule, it is docile to its master and 
safe with women and children, but when old and cross 
it is dangerous and when its ferocity is aroused, it is 
Satan unchained. 

The St. Bernard of both species, the rough and 
smooth-coated, can, in this country, serve little other 
purpose than that of ornament. It is a magnificent 
beast, if it receives more care in the matter of groom- 
ing and exercise than a blooded horse of high price 
needs, and one or two of them "set off" a lawn or a 
porch admirably, and they form a noble escort to a 
village cart. As watch dogs, however, their usefulness 
lies in their deterrent rather than their aggressive 
value. The most hardened of tramps would hesitate 
before passing a canine sentinel with a head like a 
lion's and a body as large as that of a calf. As to 
choice between the rough and smooth-coated, only this 
is to be said : The dog with the least coat suffers the 
least in warm weather. The new acquisition, Sir Bed- 
ivere, valued at $25,000, was almost in a state of col- 



THE GIANT PETS OF RACE. 17 

lapse at the last New York Bench Show, although the 
thermometer marked but a little over 70. 

Have we any Newfoundlands here ? Very few, if 
the correct type is to be accepted as a criterion of value. 
The exhibitions recently have been wretched, while in 
England they have been very good. It is a faithful, 
docile and intelligent beast, indispensable where 
there are children who disregard maternal advice and 
*' go near the water," provided it has had a few lessons, 
first in recovering articles thrown in the water, and 
then in rescuing a child able to swim but who will 
simulate one in peril. 

No dog has suffered so much from the tricks 
of dog "jockeys" to satisfy an incorrect public 
standard of excellence as the Newfoundland. The 
race came of crossing, but the proper type is a jet 
black animal; white breasts are not blemishes by any 
means, and its coat should have a little wave in it, 
but this should not by any means tend so much to 
curliness as to be what, among women, is known as 
"good-natured hair." The popular fallacy was that 
the dog should be huge, with a coat as kinky as an 
Ethiopian's wool, and the dealers, by crossing, sup- 
plied the demand, until what appeared to be uninter- 
esting runts took the prizes at the shows and enlight- 
ened the victims of the "jockeys." 

The Russian Wolfhounds are new to us. They used 
to appear in the " miscellaneous " class. They appear 
to be a distinct race, so far as the Greyhound type of 
2 



1 8 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

Ihcni is concerned. Another type of tliem is a mongrel 
one. 'i'liey are fleet and courageous and are said to be 
good watch dogs. They are certainly graceful, so much 
so as to suggest the inquiry, " Could they cope with the 
wolf.?" 

The choice of any of the dogs named in the list of 
field sport dogs must be determined by the taste and 
l)urses of those who select them, the sport that is to be 
had and the accommodations the animals can be given. 

What has been said about long and short coated 
dogs applies to them, if we may except the Sj)aniels, 
which, with proper care and exercise, and occasional 
access to water, flourish even in such cramped quarters 
ns a city flat, while they are glorious fellows at a coun- 
try home. 

JV)inlcrs and Setters of all the strains must be 
bought on pedigree and guarantee, and a safe guide is 
the American Kennel Club Stud I>ook, which records 
pedigrees and is largely to be trusted as a guarantor 
of race. This treatise cannot discuss the value of the 
various strains of these breeds, but it may venture to say 
that in nine cases out of ten, the light-colored dog is 
more valuable in the woods than the dark one, because it 
can the easier be seen, but such a dog in the city 
shows uncleanliness of coat more markedly than one 
of darker color. Pointers are more often snappish 
than Setters, and arc, therefore, more undesirable for 
]:)laymates, unless their temper has been thoroughly 
tested. 



THE GIANT PE TS OF RA CE. 1 9 

The big hounds are not home dogs, and are as 
much out of place in the city as Greyhounds, unless 
the owner has extraordinary and unexceptionable 
facilities for keeping and exercising them. And here 
appears to be the place to say that the keeping of dogs 
in "hutch" kennels in the open air, which is injurious 
to any breed anywhere, is an infamy in a cit}^, and out- 
rageous when the "hutch " is in a yard on which the 
sun never shines. Silvio Pellico's " Prigioni " were 
palaces to such dank, cheerless, temper-wrecking cells. 
Better to trust to your friends or hire a dog when 
the shooting season begins, than to spoil the traits of 
your field companion and court rheumatism and other 
ailments by such imprisonment. 

The Dachshunde, however, which is not only a rab- 
bit dog of merit, but when properly trained a valuable 
aid in deer tracking, can be kept without much 
trouble or risk in a city. It is one of the most docile 
of the dog family and when of pure strain almost 
priceless. It's a queer little fellow with a keen, sharp, 
inquisitive head, a kid glove coat and bandy legs that 
are as monstrously ugly as its head and trunk are 
lovel3^ The Beagle, a rabbit hound, dwarf brother to 
the Harrier, Fox and Staghound, might also be kept 
in cramped town quarters. But neither it nor our 
bandy-legged friend is, as a rule, a good watch dog, 
but they get along well with the little folks. 

A little enthusiasm about the Spaniels is pardon- 
able. They are to-day what they were 400 years ago — 



20 MAN'S FRIEND, 77/ E DOG. 

blue -blooded by reason of remote ancestry and unsul- 
lied linenge. The Irish and Water Spaniels even 
can be kept in a flat if given enough exercise and a 
run lo water occasionally and all of them are deli- 
ciously cute; born trick dogs, excellent field dogs and 
good guardians and playmates. As dogs for hunting, 
their methods differ from those of the pointer and 
setter as, unless specially trained, they do not slop 
when game is discovered but rout it up and announce 
its presence by barking. The forte of the Cockers 
and Clumbers is woodcock and ruffed grouse ; the 
others are all round dogs for game and water fowl. 
Few are quail dogs. 

The most admirable and the largest of the spaniel 
family is the Clumber, a delightful, lumbering, short- 
legged fellow, with an orange and white coat, each 
hair of which is like spun glass. It has not found 
favor enough in this country to be launched as a ca- 
price of fashion, simply because in the whole of the 
United States and in Canada there are not twenty 
couples of pure bred animals. It makes as good a 
house dog under favorable circumstances as it is a 
keen and admirable field dog. 

As has been said elsewhere, the Retriever, a dog of 
uncertain lineage, useful to pick up dead or wounded 
game, and the Duck or Chesapeake Bay dog are not 
house dogs for a city. 



OUR HOME DOG. 

" The little dogs and all." 



Kins^ Lear. 



This chapter deals with the terriers, Collies, the non- 
sporting Greyhounds, Poodles, Pugs and chamber 
spaniels. It will not deal with "Toy" or "Freak" 
dogs in the sense of speaking of them as desirable 
pets, for these reasons : — There is a market for every- 
thing that is grotesque, deformed, stunted or unnat- 
ural. Collections of such monstrosities are made and 
can be seen for a dime. The Japanese are clever in 
producing dwarfed deformities of trees because there 
is a market for such adornments. There was, and 
still is to a limited extent, a market for " Freak " or 
"Toy" dogs and the demand resulted in the furnish- 
ing of a supply of rickety, wretched, shivering abom- 
inations, principally in the Bull terrier, Yorkshire ter- 
rier and Black and Tan breeds. The dwarfing in case 
of the Bull and Black and Tan terriers is attained by 
choosing undersized sires and dams ; picking out the 
runts of their.progeny and physicking them from pup- 
pyhood to maturity. The Yorkshires, vile long-haired 

21 



22 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

and silky-polled dogs, came of crossing with the Scotch, 
Skye, and Black and Tan breeds, to obtain form, color, 
coat and sprightliness, and supply the demand for little 
brutes that are seen in upholstered cages and attended 
by women at every dog show. Few of them reproduce 
their kind. In many cases maternity is fatal and 
should a litter of — say Bull or Black and Tan — ter- 
rier toys be raised, luck alone furnishes a small whelp; 
the others are nondescripts. 

In the case of the Yorkshires, one litter out of three 
furnishes a puppy that may some day be shown and 
combed to a degree that is exasperating and its poll 
pomaded and bandolined to make it appear attract- 
ive. One romp or a failure to " fix it up " destroys the 
illusion. It becomes a blurred caricature of all the 
races that have entered into its composition. Its off- 
spring are invariably sold at cheap rates as Scotch or 
Skye terriers. Shun " Toys " and " Yorkshires." 

Few persons know what a keen, sprightly and ex- 
quisitely shaped animal a Black and Tan terrier of the 
" London type " is. It is not the shivering, blue- 
skinned, hair-denuded little wretch that among women 
of no uncertain class commands such a high price. 
It is a defiant, symmetrical, well-poised and game-to- 
the-backbone home dog ; black as jet except where 
the test of absolutely pure blood demands rich tan 
markings. Its limbs are fine, yet strong, its tail is 
straight and shapely and the contour of its neck and 
head are as correct as that of a race horse. Few 



OUR HOME DOG. 23 

home dogs are equally desirable in point of watchful- 
ness, pluck, fidelity and gentleness. 

And the Bull Terrier, what a difference between a 
''jockeyed" strain with a snubbed or short or dull, 
thick nose and the nervous, lithe, hard, yet short coated 
thoroughbred, dazzling-white where there is hair, 
rose-hued where nature provides no coat, and black 
nosed. What a keen head ; what a quicksilver tem- 
perament; tail straight, but a little longer than the 
fine nose. 

A Bull Terrier is born pugnacious and is a terrible 
fighter because of the structure of its jaws, which have 
a punishing power due to their ability to open, alli- 
gator or snake fashion, far back. Yet, if properly 
raised, it can be depended on as the most faithful and 
redoubtable of watch dogs and it may be trained to be 
as gentle with women and children as any other. It, 
like the true Black and Tan, can be kept in any city 
home. 

An equally desirable house dog is the Cocker spaniel 
of both the liver, liver and white and black varieties, if 
at least once a year it has an outing in the country and 
can occasionally be taken to give free vent to its exuber- 
ant spirits, where it can range and indulge in the luxury 
of a bath. It is unsurpassed as a pet if it be not old or 
ailing; is as handsome a parlor ornament as a Persian 
cat, is a famous watch dog and learns to be cunning in 
tricks quicker than any dog, except, perhaps, a poodle. 

Apart from this, it is an intelligent and useful com- 



24 MAN'S f'RrEND, THE DOG. 

panion in the country, especially when its master wants 
an hour or so of recreation in a woodcock cover, if he 
will only have patience, keep il in si^ht and be ever 
alert to have the ranj^e any " longbill " may take when 
starting. Uut buy no Cocker unless on guarantee and 
keep no animal thai is long-legged or without ears, 
feathered almost to the ground and well marked. 'J'lie 
limit for weight for a liver and white Cocker is fifteen 
pounds. The best for home dogs are between eleven 
and thirteen pounds. As to markings, choose an ani- 
mal well ticked over the fore legs and nose, in prefer- 
ence to one having uniform patches of color. The 
progeny of ill marked dogs are less well marked than 
they invariably, and this deterioration in beauty of 
marking is progressive; by generation. 

The Poodle is essentially a house dog, be it Russian 
or French. The animal in ciiaracteristics is a hoiise- 
lu)ld imp, nf>t averse to mischief or l)rawling. When 
once started it is a desperate fighter, but it rarely attacks 
mankind and is a good watch dog. Fashion has made 
it grotesque and indecently so, but those who keep such 
shorn beasts have the courage of their convictions. 

A house dog to which the heart warms by reason of 
romantic and literary associations is the Collie, the 
most gentle, constant and lovable of any race. Sym- 
pathetic and unobtrusive in its instincts and (juaintly 
human in its traits, unless perverted by example or en- 
couragement, it lacks dog nature so far as hunting ten- 
dencies and the worrying of such "small deer " as cats, 



OUR HOME DOG. 2$ 

rats and mice are concerned ; but it can be trusted as well 
by the cradle as in the sheep-fold, and although happier 
and healthier in a free range, it adapts itself easily to 
city life. No dog so soon learns the ways of a house- 
hold or is so slow to forget those who have cared for it. 

Our friend, the Pug, was cast in a more stolid and 
philosophical and less sentimental mould, but really 
fine bred ones of the Willoughby or Morrison strain are 
rarely to be had at prices within the reach of any but 
the rich. It is a desirable home pet because it is clean- 
coated, docile and odorless. It is, however, a miser- 
able guardian, stolid as a burgher and as a rule unde- 
monstrative. 

The Fox Terrier, while as clean-coated as the Pug 
is as demonstrative and mercurial as the other is phleg- 
matic and quiet-loving. It is impossible to name a 
better dog for a city home, be it cramped or spacious. 
It is a self-assertive little fellow, not prone however to 
quarrel, but ever active in search of experiences, the 
gratification of curiosity or in search of such mild distrac- 
tions as cat chasing and rat killing. It is " all dog ", to 
use the experience of an enthusiast, and in that term is 
comprehended its faults ; it would be a little too lively 
in a staid household. As a watch dog, it is the peer of 
any and is rarely cross with children. The rough 
coated variety is even more hardy than the short coated 
one, but he is objected to on the ground that the con- 
trast between them is as great as between a spruce 
young dandy and an unshaven proletarian. 



26 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

Of the rough-coated terriers, whole chapters might be 
written on each. All are admirable as guardians, com- 
panions, and " varmint killers." A choice among them 
must depend upon personal taste. The best, probably, 
would be the Irish-Terrier, because it is the least 
masked by hair, and its game head is exceedingly tak- 
ing. It is possibly of all house dogs the one that has 
the wiriest coat, each individual hair being almost as 
coarse as a bristle. Its coat is a charming filbert brown 
in hue and its pluck is indomitable. 

A Dandie Dinmont is another cute fellow with two 
heavy coats ; one a coarse outside, one of pepper and 
salt, mustard, flint or belton shade, with an inner one; 
a soft, silky pile and a scimetar tail. It has all the 
characteristics which make an Irish-Terrier attractive. 

So few real Skye-Terriers exist that the true animal is 
almost unknown. Anything that is long and hairy with 
a fuzzy face is called a Skye. The dog of race, how- 
ever, is an animal at least three times as long as it is high 
at the shoulders. It has a coat as coarse as horse hair 
and so long that, parted on the back, it could almost trail 
on the ground ; it is short-legged, and shock headed 
with long, expressive ears carried jauntily and a pecul- 
iar trundling gait. Its colors are steel-gray, blue, pep- 
per and salt, and black. The Bedlington terrier is of 
the same form, but its coat has a tendency to kink and 
be woolly. 

The Scotch-Terrier is much like the Irish, only its 
color should be a rich cream or fawn or rufous, and the 



OUR HOME DOG. 2/ 

texture of the coat should run from wiry and short on 
the back to a little less harsh and lighter in hue on the 
head. A Scotch-Terrier should never be blue. Those 
that are sold as such are the useless progeny of the so- 
called Yorkshire or they are nondescripts. 

The lap dogs comprise the delicate Italian Grey- 
hound and the King Charles, Blenheim, and Japanese 
Spaniels ; all of them date back to the i6th century. 
They are useless as watch dogs but singularly orna- 
mental. The Greyhounds are exotics and in cold 
weather are wretched, chilly little things, but in fine 
weather they romp like other dogs and are as graceful 
as gazelles. The have not been in fashion for years, 
more's the pity. Blenheims and King Charles spaniels 
have been fashionable for three centuries and were 
never so cheap as to be within the reach of persons 
whose means are moderate. Like the Mastiffs and 
some other breeds they, half a century ago, could be 
found of pure pedigree only with persons of rank or 
fortune who were so selfish as to refuse either to sell 
them or give them away and the result was "in-breed- 
ing " and deterioration. 

To-day it would be difficult to find either a Blenheim 
or King Charles with a perfectly even jaw. All are 
more or less " undershot " or " overshot," as the pro- 
jection of the under or upper jaw is termed. A lovelier 
pet than a thoroughbred orange and white Blenheim 
spaniel is not to be found, and no dog is handsomer 
than a glossy, black King Charles with rich tan mark- 



28 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

ings. But the sums asked for even second class dogs 
are exorbitant. A fine Blenheim would be cheap at 
$500 and $350 is usually asked for a King Charles. 
Their pedigrees should date to Nell Gwyn. The little 
leggy and ill-feathered Japanese spaniel is a pretty, 
innocent little dog that has had little success in 
America. None of these lap dogs have any merit as 
guardians. Were they to face a maurauder and could 
speak they would probably say, with the coon, " Is that 
you, Cap'n ? I'll come down." 

The Bull Dog has not been described because it 
cannot be regarded as a safe pet or a desirable watch 
dog. If because of its cynical ferocity and unpre- 
posessing traits, both of face and structure, it is 
regarded as an acquisition, that may explain why some 
prefer it to other breeds and it does explain why it 
should not be recommended as a home dog. Other 
dogs are not spoken of because they have hitherto been 
in the '" miscellaneous " class and may be looked upon if 
not with suspicion, as pertaining to the class nonde- 
script. 



THE CHOICE AND COST OF A DOG. 

The preceding chapters have flashed some caution 
signals, and discussed dogs in relation to their adapt- 
ability to our climate and the breeds suitable for confined 
quarters as well as more spacious houses, mansions and 
the country, and they have praised some breeds as 
adapted for close city keeping, and as valuable for dis- 
tinct race characteristics. The reader who intends to 
own a dog has doubtless at least an idea of the kind of 
animal that would suit his tastes and home. If not, he 
should study the subject and decide. Such study can 
be made at exhibitions of dogs, or by looking at pure 
blooded animals belonging to others, but as has been 
said before, "Beware of the mongrel and the dog 
that comes to you without unquestioned guarantee." 

It will be just as unpleasant to devote a year to ^he 
development of a dog only to find that it would have 
no chance of notice in an exhibition, as it would be 
pleasant, and should be possible, to raise one and see 
a judge at a bench show put the blue ribbon of first 
honor on its collar. Nothing in dogs is worth harbor- 
ing unless it is first class in every respect. No smat- 

29 



30 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

tering of dog lore will enable an amateur to cope with 
reckless or untrustworthy dealers. On the other hand 
it does no harm, and is a pleasant recreation, to learn as 
much as possible about dogs of the house. Knowledge of 
them comes intuitively, and if interest in them is pushed 
to the verge of a " fad," so much the better. It will arm 
the student against imposition, provided he select one 
or two breeds and devote his whole attention to them. 

If for instance, the student should choose as his 
home pet an Irish-Terrier, or a Cocker Spaniel, not 
only the literature devoted to them would be interesting 
to him, but he would have a live interest in those 
owned by others, in exhibitions, and in the chat about 
them in the publications which make a specialty of dog 
lore. Such publications are legion, and a few of them 
are trustworthy, interesting, and not vehicles for the 
schemes of irresponsible and unscrupulous " jockeys." 

This work cannot undertake to recommend any such 
publications. Selections can be made by getting 
sample numbers from a news dealer, and individual 
judgment and tastes will dictate the choice. 

In deciding upon the breed of dog that he wishes, a 
purchaser would do well to decide leisurely; first as to 
characteristics that please, and secondly as to what 
animal would suit his house. As a rule, financial 
considerations should not weigh in the matter. If a 
puppy is chosen, it is simply investing in a lottery. 
In such cases, assuming that the puppy be less 
than two months old, the rarest and choicest strains 



THE CHOICE AND COST OF A DOG. 3 1 

seldom command more than ^50, while the usual 
price for such a canine baby is from $10 to $15. 
With a guarantee, any one who thinks such a sum 
large for a dog should either await a present of 
a puppy, or abandon the idea of possessing one of 
blue blood. 

With this outlay he has to suffer much annoyance. 
Young dogs are as fractious, as unpleasant in habits, 
and as subject to fatal ailments as babies, but the dog 
raised, it is treasured more than one that is acquired 
when adult. It is impossible to name a sum for a dog 
of any breed one year old, and therefore past the 
period of great risks, tutored in clean ways and weaned 
of mischievousness. The amount must be determined 
by the purse of the buyer, the intensity of his purpose 
to own a dog, the strain of the animal and the reasons 
which prompt the owner to sell. While a good liver 
and white Cocker Spaniel, a capital Fox-Terrier, and 
an entirely unobjectionable Black and Tan-Terrier of 
the strict, large type should command from $50 to $100, 
an entirely reasonable sum, fabulous amounts might be 
asked for some animals of these breeds simply because 
some very rich persons are willing and able to pay 
them. A fine and absolutely perfect Pug, a Collie of 
rare strain, an Irish or Skye-Terrier, a Bull-Terrier of 
the true type, is worth just what its owner will sell it 
for. Dachshundes of patrician blood and perfect 
Blenheim and King Charles Spaniels, like the large 
dogs, St. Bernard's Mastiffs, and Great Danes, always 



32 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

command fancy prices as do rare orchids, violins or 
books, but cost, so far as such dogs are concerned, is 
hardly a criterion of really intrinsic value. As a rule, 
$15 for a puppy, and $75 for a dog or gyp one year 
old are prices that are reasonable. 



HAVING CHOSEN THE DOG. 

Having chosen the dog that is to be your home 
friend, from among the kinds named, and on the sug- 
gestions given, it is assumed that you have one of dis- 
tinct race, capable of reproducing its kind and not 
likely to be the parent of mongrels, if mated to one 
equally pure-blooded. You have, it is also assumed, 
disregarded new "fads," and "created" breeds from 
the miscellaneous classes, such as Schipperkes Whip- 
pets, Welsh, White English, and so on, and have 
steered clear of the shoals and rocks on which many 
an enthusiast has been wrecked, in admiration for 
animals that are fluffy, woolly, or silky in coat and " so 
cunning," like the Yorkshire Terrier, or the dwarfs and 
unhappy "Toys," or the hairless freaks of China and 
Mexico. Your task now is to make your dog and 
your home mutually suitable. 



33 



INSTALLATIOX OF THE PET. 

If your acquisition is a puppy, it has to pass a 
period of probation, the duration of which depends on 
the amount of liberty it gets in some place where it 
cannot be a nuisance, the intelligence of its mentor 
and corrector, and its appreciation of what are the 
ethics of polite society, and the nature of its reproofs 
or chastisements. It is impossible to lay down rules 
for the training of a puppy, so that it may learn that 
correction awaits it if it is unclean in clean places, 
noisy where quiet reigns, or mischievous. Be the dog 
little or small, a revolver is better than a stick, or 
even a cane. The best trained dog is one that appre- 
ciates a vocal reproof. 

First, assign quarters to the pet, be it large or smalL 
If a baby dog, some out-of-the-way place in a box, out 
of which it cannot crawl, should be devoted to it. A 
hall, a recess, or a lumber room will do. A cellar is 
the worst place, an airy loft the best. Let it appre- 
ciate that where it sleeps is its headquarters. An 
adult dog takes more kindly to a new billet than a 
young one, but it should have a different bed. The 

34 



INSTALLATION OF THE PET. 35 

best for an adult is a remnant of carpet sufficiently 
large for its comfort, attached to the floor so that it 
cannot be scratched up. A puppy should sleep on an 
old woollen garment that can be washed frequently or 
replaced. 

It is better in close quarters for an adult to have a 
screw eye bolt arranged in its sleeping place, so that 
at stated hours it can be chained up for sleep at night, 
and released at a certain hour for exercise in the 
morning. During the day, it should have as much 
liberty as the apartment will permit. The chain and 
eye bolt can be otherwise utilized as a correctional 
measure, when there is ill-doing and marked dis- 
approval becomes necessary, because reproof and 
mild correction have not been heeded. A dog should 
ii^ver be thrashed. As a rule, the voice should be as 
potent as a cuff, and if corporal punishment must be 
resorted to, the best instrument is a newspaper tightly 
folded in a roll like a club. A more severe chastise- 
ment can be administered with a large paper-covered 
book, and a slipper ought to inflict the severest 
thrashing that a house dog should be subjected 
to. 

The blows should be given while the culprit is held 
by the nape of the neck, and freely distributed over 
the cheeks, forepavvs and thighs, but the ears, mouth, 
abdomen and back should be spared. The thrashing 
should be accompanied by chidings, and it may be 
emphasized by other punishment, such as locking up, 



36 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

deprivation of food, or an affectation of contempt at 
its conduct. 

The dispositions of dogs vary. The safest rule is, 
after a correction, to chain the animal up or sequester 
it and allow no one to go near it. This is a bar to the 
animal seeking sympathy from others, or hiding away 
or sulking. After awhile the corrector should visit the 
animal and make peace with it, talking to it soberly 
and sparing caresses, but no correction, vocal or phys- 
ical, should be meted out unless the culprit is caught 
red-handed, as it were, in noise, mischief or nastiness, 
as it should understand precisely why it is punished. 
Brutal chastisement is as absurd as it is useless and 
cruel. 

The writer once bought an admirable Irish Setter 
that had passed several unhappy years with a brute 
who was a fiend incarnate when angry, and to whom, 
when correction was necessary or unnecessary, nothing 
came amiss. Boots, fists, a gun barrel, or a fence rail 
suited him equally well, and the dog was often laid up 
by maimings. It soon learned to appreciate humane 
treatment, and all that it needed was vocal remon- 
strance and now and then a shake by the neck ; it 
would whine piteously for clemency if a few grass 
stalks were gathered and shaken at it while its master 
held it by the ear, the neck or a front paw. Some- 
times rebel natures are discovered, and a dark cell and 
bread and water correction have to be resorted to until 
the animal surrenders and crawls up to lick the mas- 



INS TALL A TION OF THE PE T. 37 

ter's hand. Any attempt at retaliation by biting 
should be punished instantly by a slipper thrashing 
and solitary confinement without food. Incorrigible 
offenders in this respect should be got rid of. 

The home dog soon fraternizes with the domestic cat. 
The introduction will always be risky, and accompa- 
nied by zeal on the part of the one to put the other 
through its paces, and scurrying and spitting and tail 
elephantiasis, but, unless the cat has kittens, a truce is 
soon patched up and in time they will eat out of 
the same dish, — unless some stupid person "sics" the 
dog on the cat and encourages it to chase or worry it. 
Much of the tact necessary with young children tells 
wonderfully if applied to dog raising, and no animal 
detects more quickly injustice, caprice, neglect, or 
weakness. Let a dog learn that by acting " prettily " 
it may escape reproof or punishment, and it quickly 
becomes as detestable and as great a nuisance as a 
spoiled child. 



THE DIETING OF A HOME DOG. 

Here are several golden rules : 

I St. Never let your pet get accustomed to get even 
"snacks" while you are at meals. 

2d. Let it have a set hour, rigidly observed for its 
meals. 

3d. Never let it ask itself, " Have I an appetite?" 
If it turns up its nose at its food, withdraw the food. 
Wait five minutes, and if it exhibits the same contempt 
again, let it wait until the time for the next meal. 

4th. Two repasts a day are sufficient for any dog. 

5th. It is more humane to keep a dog so that it will 
be spare than to let it get obese, and then inflict an 
"anti-fat " regime. 

6th. Be as particular with your pet's food as with 
your own, and let the vessels it uses be as clean always 
as the china on your table. 

7th. Let it have access to pure, clean water in a 
proper vessel at all times of the day or night without 
its having to suffer or beg for it. A dog deprived of 
water for some time gulps it down when its craving is 
attended to, and its stomach and appetite suffer, 

38 



THE DIETING OF A HOME DOG. 39 

8th. Never give a dog raw meat, unless a veterina- 
rian orders it. 

To this may be added a protest against tin or any 
metal vessel. Earthenware or china is not too good 
for any dog. The drinking vessel, in which fresh water 
should be put at least three times a day, should be near 
the place assigned to the animal for sleeping, and if it 
be chained, it should be within easy reach of its chain. 
Such vessels should be at least five inches wide to pre- 
vent slopping when it laps and as heavy as possible, so 
that it may not easily be overturned and wet the dog's 
couch. Every time the water is changed, the vessel 
should be well rinsed. Good water is the life of a dog. 
It should not be too much trouble, when spring water 
cannot be had, to let water come to a boil, then bottle 
it and put it away where it will cool, but not in an ice 
box. As the dog needs it, pour it into the drinking 
vessel. Never let a dog drink milk that has not been 
boiled. It will have less risk of intestinal parasites and 
tubercular trouble. 

Each dog's appetite varies, and some gain flesh more 
rapidly than others. The amount of food required for 
a pet can only be ascertained by observation. It must 
not gorge itself at any time. The safest way to test its 
appetite is to serve to it an ample dish of nourishment 
and watch it. If it is a glutton, it will gulp its food, 
and its aldermanic tendencies can only be checked by 
giving it rations in a couple of tablespoonfuls at a time. 
The amount necessary to sustain it can be judged by 



40 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

its conduions. When a dog's ribs cannot be well de- 
tected when it is active, it is too fat and its rations 
should be lowered. 

Dogs that are not gluttons and in good health, gen- 
erally eat heartily for a minute or so, hesitate, eat a little 
more, and appear to be disposed to allow the rest to 
remain for a lunch. Take what remains away. This 
hesitation comes oc dog nature. It is an instinct of 
Providence. A dog with its freedom, on finding some- 
thing to gorge on, generally carrion, will eat some and 
bury the rest. It simply provides for a rainy day, or 
as the French say, it is '' tine poire pour la soif^ 

Do not attempt to raise your pet on milk, cereals and 
bread, nor believe that a dog does not need animal food. 
A dog to flourish should have a regimen as varied as 
a human being, but while it requires meat, and would 
hardly do without occasional bone nourishment, the 
basis of its food should be excellent corn and oatmeal, 
and clean and wholesome bread refuse. Disregard ad- 
vice to feed your home dog on slops and " table refuse." 
If 3^ou do not and trust to " Bridget " fish, flesh, fowl, 
pastry, sweets and sauces will go to make an Olla Pod- 
rida for " Snap " which will soon entail a veterinarian's 
services. 

A very good plan is to devote a deep frying pan or 
saucepan lined with enamel to the pet's cookery. Scru- 
pulous cleanliness must be observed in its use, and in 
the selection of the food for the animal, which should 
be cooked once a day. The best time is in the after- 



THE DIETING OF A HOME DOG. 4 1 

noon, when it will be cooked and cooled in time for 
supper and the rest can be put away for breakfast. The 
most convenient hours for the dog's meals are 5 p. m. and 
7 A. M, and it should have a good run after supper and 
before breakfast. 

A nice v/ay of getting up its food is to select sbme 
table scraps of meat from a joint of anything but pork, 
which have not been served with any sauce. Remove 
superfluous fat, but do not be too particular about this, 
and choose some cleanly cooked vegetables, such as 
boiled potatoes, cabbage, spinach or onions that have 
not had sauce of any kind on them. Stew the meat 
and vegetables for an hour and a half, turn the stew in 
a dish, and, taking the saucepan or the frying pan, put 
in it one, two, three or four spoonfuls of corn meal or 
oatmeal or corn and oatmeal mixed. Add enough 
water or the juice of the stew to prevent burning, and 
stir for a couple of minutes over the fire. Then turn in 
the stew. Incorporate the mixture and put it away to 
cool. The quantity of meal, etc. , is regulated by the 
size, appetite and requirements of the dog. No such 
food should be kept longer than twenty-four hours. In 
less time it sometimes sours and should be rejected. 

In serving the food, either pick out the lumps of 
meat or hide them under the food. Dogs are quaintly 
human, and treat meat in a stev/ as sailors raisins in 
"ornary"plum duff, or children molasses landscapes 
on bread and butter. They make sure of the most pal- 
atable of the dish, and eat the rest after. Such a stew 



42 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG, 

should be sparingly seasoned with salt, never with 
pepper. Such a dish should be the dog's food five 
days of the week. It can be varied by lessening or 
increasing any of the ingredients. The other two days 
of the week, one can break the monotony of the regi- 
men by giving milk that has been boiled and poured 
over broken crackers in the morning, and a beef rib or 
a mutton bone with some generous shreds of flesh on 
in the evening. This is the dogs tooth-brush. Now 
and then a chicken carcass without the leg and wing 
bones is good food, if the dog be mature, and have a 
full set of good teeth, but it is best to break the car- 
cass with the flat of a hatchet, and to always watch for 
choking accidents. 

Once a fortnight a dish of parboiled ox liver should 
be given as a meal. It is a great and grateful change 
and acts as a laxative. Another good meal which 
should replace the liver is a stew of ox or sheep's 
heart, but care should be taken to supply such meat 
food so that five meals of hash with ground cereals 
intervene, and in warm weather a dog should be 
humored into doing with as little animal nourishment as 
possible. The pets, in nine cases out of ten, will have 
to be starved into it, but they will not suffer if they 
reject three meals; they will eat the fourth under pro- 
test, but when the fifth is served they will be eager for 
it. 

Puppies that are weaning, that is to say, not more 
than six weeks old, require nothing but first-class milk 



THE DIETING OF A HOME DOG. 43 

that has been brought to the boiling point, with the 
chill off, for two weeks, varied with pure buttermilk 
and now and then a piece of well-baked corn bread the 
size of a hickory nut, made palatable by soaking it for 
an instant in milk or meat soup. When they are two 
months old they may be taught to eat thicker nourish- 
ment, and a beef or mutton bone freed of spiculae 
and with a very little cooked meat on it makes them 
happy and helps along dentition. Care should be 
taken, however, to ascertain when the puppies serrated 
or milk teeth begin to get loose, so that it may not 
swallow them while eating. 

Broth for ailing and weak dogs should be made by 
cutting up raw beef, mutton or chicken in small dice, 
putting the pieces in a wide-mouthed bottle, so that 
they will pack lightly by a shake. Fill the bottle to 
the top of the meat with cold water, and keep it in a 
vessel of boiling water for three hours or put the bottle 
in a jar filled with water to a level with the water in 
the bottle, and keep the jar in an oven, taking care to 
replenish the water in it to the level named for two 
hours ; then let the bottle cool, and pass the contents 
through clean linen, taking care to squeeze the broth 
from the meat which is now useless animal fibre. Sea- 
son the broth lightly with salt. If the animal's condi- 
tion is not very serious, the broth can be given with 
wholesome bread refuse, corn, bread, crackers, or dog 
biscuits. At least once a month, examine you dog's 
mouth. If young and it has loose puppy teeth, extract 



44 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

them as soon as they can be moved to an angle of 45 
degrees. If old, look out for loose or decayed teeth, 
and induce a dentist to operate on them. If they 
become covered with tartar get a dentist's instrument 
and remove it, taking care, however, not to injure the 
enamel. A last advice : feed your own dog yourself if 
you wish its friendship to be enduring. 



ABLUTIONS. 

All dogs in towns need bathing at least once a 
month. The animal's health and cleanliness depend 
largely on the condition of its coat. Short coated 
dogs require a slight soaping and a rinse ; long coated 
ones a careful wash and a removal of the soap in 
several changes of water. Warm, not hot water 
should be used. The best soaps are tar or sulphur or 
carbolic for long-coated animals, and castile soap for 
short-coated, such as Fox or Black and Tan terriers. 
Dip the dog in water, soap it, rinse it according to the 
length of its coat and its capacity to retain lather, and 
after it has been drained off on an old cloth and in a 
place free from draughts — this should not take more 
than a minute— wrap it in an old but clean sheet or 
blanket, and stow it away in a box or basket or in 
some place whence it cannot escape. It will soon be 
warm, and will gradually get dry enough to be released 
without fear of catching cold. When entirely dry, if it 
be a long coated dog, comb it with a coarse comb, 
unravelling any knots that may be in its coat, tail or 
ears, and brush it with a brush that would not be too 

45 



4.6 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

hcirsh for human hair. It will then shake itself into 
form and forget its martyrdom. In the country with 
free access to water and grass no dog needs a wash- 
ing, but all the long coated ones should have a groom- 
ing occasionally, when the appearance of their coats 
warrants it. 



CROPPING, DOCKING AND OTHER MUTILA- 
TIONS. 

Fashion and tradition have decreed that certain 
dogs, such as black and tan terriers, shall be cropped or 
lose part of their ears, and that others, such as fox terri- 
ers, shall be docked or lose a portion of their tail. These 
mutilations make the animals smart looking, and in the 
case of the quarrelsome breeds the loss of part of the 
ear avoids laceration in disputes. Tail shortening, 
v/hile a mutilation, can hardly be objected to, as the 
operation should be performed when the animal is but 
a few days old, and generally before it can see. It is 
an instantaneous one, and rarely excites a whimper. 
Ear cutting is a more cruel operation, as to be success- 
ful it should be done when the animal is well out of 
puppyhood, and the cutting is attended by loss of 
blood and much suffering, and the victim is an invalid 
for at least a week. In warm weather, such an opera- 
tion should be prohibited. 



47 



MUZZLES, CHAINS AND HARNESS. 

Our home pets knew what harness and muzzles 
were in the time of Robbie Burns and I'ope. 
Burns in his " Twa dogs " says : 

" His locked, lettered, braw brass collar, 
Showed him a gentleman and a scholar." 

And Pope on the collar of the dog he gave to a friend 
had engraved : 

" Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you ? " 

Such gewgaws as collars and harnesses and muzzles 
have caused much suffering. Harnesses, such as are 
used for pug dogs, are simply a freak of fashion. 
Collars, chains and muzzles are needed, but if ill 
made, heavy, or too tight, they are instruments of 
torture and bring about deformities and ailments. No 
collar can be too soft or light, and no muzzle too 
loose so long as it fulfils the requirements of ordinan- 
ces, prevents biting and is secure. Eye troubles, deaf- 
ness, calloused necks, spinal and cerebral troubles, and 
numerous other ailments follow the use of heavy collars, 

48 



MUZZLES, CHAINS AND HARNESS. 49 

while tight ones affect the throat and the respiration. 
The enormous and weighty neck gear on some of the 
larger dogs are cruel affairs, and some of the muzzles 
used, either pinch the jaws or hurt the neck. No muz- 
zle should prevent a dog from using ils voice or drink- 
ing, and no chain should be heavier than is absolutely 
necessary to hold the animal to its stall or place of 
rest. In leading a dog, a leather thong should always 
be used. It will not, as it is under surveillance, have 
an opportunity to gnaw it, and it is not made dejected 
and spiritless by the drag of weighty metal. 
4 



QUARTERS AND TRAINING FOR THE LAR- 
GER DOGS. 

If your pet be an animal used for hunting birds or 
furred game, by all means be liberal in its sporting 
education. Discover among your acquaintances those 
who hunt ; be with them when they so do, and watch 
their dogs. If you find animals that instead of rioting 
in the field, disobeying, jumping in at the discharge of 
a gun, or being addicted to worrying game that has 
been killed or wounded, range systematically, are 
prompt in obedience, " down charge" when the gun 
speaks and mouth game tenderly, inform yourself as to 
the breaker, and take your dog to him. 

Deer and rabbit hounds require training with dogs 
that have been blooded on the quarry they hunt, and 
75 per cent of them turn out to be only second class 
as hunters. You can choose what style of training 
your dog shall have. Some breakers train to gesture, 
some to voice. Your bird clog may be taught to 
" down charge " when a gun is fired, or to stand until 
the order is given to "go on," or "dead bird." Some 
dogs are taught to retrieve ganie ; others to simply 

SO 



QUARTERS AND TRAINING. 5 1 

point at it. The better dog is the one, staunch at gun 
fire, which simply indicates the game that has been 
killed or wounded. 

In speaking of quarters, it is assumed that if you are 
in town you have a place where a kennel can be ar- 
ranged for your dog, or if in the country, you have 
ground on which one can be built. The essentials in 
either case are airiness in a locality that is neither damp, 
bleak nor draughty, but light and comfortable, and 
above all, walls that will not harbor vermin, and a floor 
that will absorb no liquid that will taint. The site of 
such a place is readily found, and light and ventilation 
without draughts are not difficult to manage. If you 
have a large collection of dogs, say more than six, and 
keep them in your kennel at all seasons of the year, you 
must have arrangements for cool quarters in summer, 
and snug ones in winter. 

Any good sporting journal not at the beck of dog 
fighters, or the freaks of " fanciers " will furnish plans 
for such a house, but, if you can afford it, spend all 
the money that is necessary to secure a main floor of 
cement, stone, pavement, zinc covered boards or flags, 
so that it can be flushed with w^ater that should run to a 
gutter. The walls may be of brick, tiles, zinc over w^ood, 
or whitewashed wood over tarred paper. The intent of 
the waterproof floor is to avoid taint, and that of the 
walls to prevent the harboring of parasites. Vermin 
and bad odors ruin dogs' noses and tempers. 

The dogs should have a board platform or benches 



52 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

raised at least four inches from the floor, with ample 
sleeping benches. The platforms and benches should 
be set up so as to be readily removed for the thorough 
cleaning of every inch of the main floor. Clean straw 
is good bedding ; sawdust the most objectionable. Ex- 
cellent bedding mats can be made of long straw with a 
packing needle and twine. 

They should not be too elaborate, not too closely 
packed, nor cost much. Children can make them by 
the gross if necessary. They should be half as long 
again, and one and one half times as wide as the ani- 
mal that is to sleep on them. They should be fastened 
down by a cleat nailed at each end to prevent the ani- 
mal raking them up. They should be burned when 
unfit for further use. Coarse but very strong rag car- 
pets, so made that they will support at least ten 
thorough cleansings are more costly, but they have 
this advantage, if vermin are present they are carried 
away in them. The carpet that is to be cleaned 
should be folded in the kennel, put in an old barrel, 
and soaked with a i,ooo solution of bi-chloride of 
mercury for twenty-four hours ; then treated to a bath, 
wrung, soft soaped, rinsed until all the soap is gone, 
and hung into the open air until thoroughly dried. 

This is a winter couch for valuable large dogs, but it 
should be nailed, battened, or cleated down to prevent 
its being scratched up into a pillow. Three such rugs 
should last the largest St. Bernard the whole winter. 
The animal will attempt to scratch the rug up, of course, 



QUARTERS AND TRAINING. 53 

but should be checked, and after a while it will take 
kindly to the couch which, if laid over straw that is 
clean, is neat and comfortable, and not too good for a 
good dog. All couches should be so arranged that the 
occupants can be excluded from them or kept on them, 
and each animal's sleeping quarters should be isolated, 
— that is to say, that, except in the case of puppies, 
only one dog should sleep on a couch and should not 
be within reach of another. 

Yards to such kennels, if yards there must be, 
should be of pebbles, broken up, conglomerate or fine 
rock with sand or sandstone rammed hard over the 
foundation as compactly as possible, if the cost of 
cement or pavement is considered too great. But such 
yards should be dug out and re-made at least twice a 
year, as their materials absorb liquid solutions and 
become foul. A free range outside a kennel is prefer- 
able to any yard. No cesspool should be near any 
kennel, and no cooking should be done in any. Sick 
dogs have no place in them, if well dogs are there. 



TRAINING THE HOME DOG. 

Character is as varied in dogs as in human beings. 
In home pets are found the vivacious and the dull, the 
bold and the shy, the apt and the stupid, the kind and 
the cross. Generally a bond of sympathy and perfect 
understanding can be forged between the master and 
pet by careful observation and training. Force and 
harshness will always mar a dog. Intelligent treatment 
and the establishment of confidence, will, in the 
majority of cases, make one. The best rule to follow is 
the principles underlying the treatment of children. 

As has been said before, a dog detects fraud 
and false principles as readily as does a child, and 
as readily becomes spoiled and incorrigible. The 
first lesson should be to come when called and 
remain where summoned until permission is given it 
to go. It should get a name at the start, and never 
be summoned except by name unless it be a field 
dog, trained to act on gestures or whisile. It is a bad 
plan to summon any other pet by a whistle or finger 
snapping. When it comes it should receive a caress, 
and sometimes, not often, a delicacy, such as a piece of 

54 



TRAINING THE HOME DOG. 55 

bread. Never let it have sugar. It injures the teeth 
and impairs appetite. 

Once drilled in this part of the manual, it should easily 
be taught to fetch and bring. Don't use a ball, if 
possible. One of large size stretches and hurts the 
mouth ; a small one of less than two inches in diameter 
invites accident. If a ball is used, it should be of 
tough leather, never a rubber ball. A good training 
toy can be made by a cobbler, either of sole leather 
four inches long, an inch and one quarter in diameter, 
or leather less thick over a piece of wood an inch in 
diameter, or of a wad of stiff paper the same size bound 
round with twine, but chide gnawing always, and let 
your aim be to train the dog so that it will be alert to 
see the toy and bring it quickly to you. 

Make much of the dog as soon as it understands 
what you want. It will, if not extremely obtuse, soon 
learn the trick of holding the toy in its mouth, and to 
carry it if it has an intelligent mentor, quick to seize on 
its endeavors to obey and bend its dog sense to his 
wishes. Scolding does not help the pupil at all, and 
patience is the great secret of all training. The higher 
accomplishments, such as going away to seek slippers 
or hidden articles, can only be taught by earnest and 
intelligent labor, and the tuition must always be in the 
same groove. Commands to do this must always be 
given in the same tone and in the same words. 

For instance, the trick of seeking hidden articles 
depends much on the dog's marvellous sense of smell. 



56 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

The article hidden has its own odor ; so has the mas- 
ter's hand. The dog's attention is drawn to the article 
frequently, so as to familiarize it with its peculiariiy 
and odor. In time it will become interested whenever 
it is produced. Hide it somewhere in the presence of 
the dog, making it a partner to the cache. At first it 
will endeavor then and there to take it away, but chide 
it, repeating the name of the article. Coax it away- 
after a time, not speaking of the article. Go to another 
room, or if it be in the country, some distance off, and 
naming the article, say "fetch," or "get it," as you 
would do in the fetch and carry drill. 

The dog may go back at once to the article and bring 
it, or it may look puzzled and bark at you, as if to say, 
" What on earth do you want ? " In this case walk 
back to the article exhibiting immense interest in 
it, and then repeat the going away and the demand 
to fetch. A few such lessons and the trick is 
learned. 

The same patience and system are required for other 
feats. Sitting up, standing up, and even sitting down 
again are just as easily taught. The first lesson is 
given in the angle of a wall, and the dog is seated on 
its haunches, and put back in that position each time 
it endeavors to get on its four feet or lie down, and 
until it remains seated. Then it should be called away 
and made much of. By and by it will sit up and beg- 
A bonne bouche should be its reward. Later on when 
it begs it can be taught to rise on its hind legs by raising 



TRAINING THE HOME DOG. 57 

the coveted morsel and patience will result in its learn- 
ing to turn in that position. 

One of the hardest tricks after this is to get it to 
resume the sit-up or begging position. Somehow or 
another, dogs appear to suspect a practical joke in this 
trick, such as a crooked pin, and few ever learn to return 
to the sitting position other than in an undecided, gin- 
gerly fashion, and never smartly. The trick of follow- 
ing in the open air, instead of romping or running ahead, 
is one much more difficult, as it involves absolute obedi- 
ence, and the curbing of the animal's jubilation over 
freedom and its curiosity. 



AILMENTS AND NOSTRUMS. 

When you own a dog that you value, your first care 
should be to put yourself in touch with a veterinary 
surgeon, with a view of having his services in an emer- 
gency. Failing this, and an emergency arising, call 
on your family doctor. Canine pathology is in these 
days more or less familiar to every physician worthy 
of being consulted for human ailments or accidents. 
The adage, " A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," 
applies to dosing or diagnosing the ailments to which 
dogs are subject. Nostrums abound. They should 
be shunned. In bacterial, or microbic or contagious 
zymotic diseases, rare skill is necessary. If your 
child were ill, you would not hunt up a book on med- 
icine. Even if you knew all that it contained, you 
might diagnose wrongly. 

Nursing, as in the case of human beings, is "half 
the battle " in the majority of cases. In one of dis- 
temper, for instance, listen to no one if you can reach a 
veterinarian. You may be able to attend to a puppy's 
dentition or give your house pet a dose of castor oil, 
if it is dull, or functionally deranged, or dress a hurt, 

S8 



AILMENTS AND NOSTRUMS. 59 

but in serious cases depend on no one but an expert. 
Tliere are some petty troubles that do not require 
expert treatment. 

Parasites, such as fleas, may be got rid of in various 
ways. If they are found, determine if they exist else- 
where in the house. Grimalkin may have them, and if 
so, it, too, should have the same treatment. The pet's 
sleeping box and bedding must first be destroyed. 
Then it must have a bath, but, after it has been lath- 
ered with carbolic or tar soap, let the lather dry on 
and when it is nearly dry, be liberal with Persian Pow- 
der. When the coat is thoroughly dry, rinse it well 
and stow the dog away until dry again. A bi-chloride 
of mercury soap is as bad for fleas as for other vermin, 
only care should be taken not to let the animal lick 
the lather. 

Worms and skin diseases, such as the mange, 
appear simple to deal with, but the reverse is the case. 
No medicine for these troubles should be given with- 
out the advice of an expert. The advice "do not 
trust to any one but an expert, and give no nostrums" 
is repeated. Where hydrophobia is suspected, seques- 
ter the dog and send for a veterinarian. In ninety- 
nine cases out of a hundred, the symptoms will be 
found to be due to epilepsy, worms or cerebral trouble. 
On no account kill a dog suspected of having rabies 
without consulting an expert. All sick dogs should be 
kept quiet until proper advice can be had. Under 
this head, advice may be given about the claws of your 



Go MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

dog. Ill town tlicy will grow long and sharp, and if 
neglected, hurt it. They should be snipped now and 
tlien with a wire cutter, but care should be taken not 
to cut off so much as to draw blood. 



BREEDING AND CONSANGUINITY. 

Minute directions in regard to breeding dogs have 
no place in this treatise. What has been said about 
purity of race and the folly of disregarding consan- 
guinity is repeated. If, reader, you possess sire and 
dam, the responsibility for their progeny rests with 
you, in that you should be certain that each is blue 
blooded and not kin to the other ; this is " out breed- 
ing." If to retrieve or perpetuate characteristics, you 
have to resort to remote consanguinity — " in breeding," 
— be prudent and take some advice from experts. Such 
"in breeding " may be necessary to secure coat, color, 
form and traits, but xeckless " in breeding " is dis- 
astrous. 

When the gyp is about to have her young, let her 
have some quiet place for her trouble and allow no 
person or animal to worry her. She will attend to her 
puppies in her own way. If there be trouble of any 
sort in delivery or in suckling, consult a veterinarian. 
Wean the puppies when they are six weeks old. You 
can readily learn how many whelps may be expected 
by naming your breed, and if more than four arrive, 

6i 



62 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

you should get rid of the surplus in some way. Foster 
mothers are easily found and cats or mongrel dogs, 
deprived of their little ones, take kindly to puppies and 
make excellent wet nurses. 



% 



SOME OF OUR DOG BREEDERS. 

In England, dog breeders and owners are found in 
all classes — "from the Queen to the costermonger." 
The Prince of Wales and his mother are exhibitors at 
bench shows with their subjects, and Whitechapel 
snatches laurels from Belgravia and vice versa. Here 
we have the Belmonts, the Rutherfords, the Vander- 
bilts and others of the " Four Hundred " with Miss A. 
H. Whitney to judge their Pugs and their St. Ber- 
nards. An idea of the importance of dog raising and 
dealing may be had from the following partial list of 
what are known as kennels in this country and Canada 
and in which more than $1,500,000 are invested : 

Associated Fanciers, Clementon, N. J. 

Acme Kennels, 917 Chestnut St., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Buckthorn Kennels, 100 Lexington Ave., New York City. 

Brant Cocker Kennels, Brantford, Ontario, Canada. 

Beaumont Kennels, 159 West 34th St., New York City. 

Bleonton Kennels, Hempstead, L. I. 

Caumsett Kennels, 9 West 35th St., New York City. 

Chestnut Hills Kennels, Box 1630, Philadephia, Pa. 

Cohannet Kennels, East Taunton, Mass. 

Central Kennels, 340 Central Ave., Jersey City, N. J. 

63 



64 MAN'S FRIEND, THE DOG. 

Chequasset Kennels, Lancaster, Mass. 

Cook Kennels, Detroit, Mich. 

Calumet Kennels, 2821 Emerald Ave., Chicago, 111. 

Contoocook Kennels, Peterborough, N. H. 

Dunrobrin Kennels, Stanley, N. Y. 

Erminie Kennels, Box 82, Mount Vernon, N. \ . 

Elmwood Kennels, South Framingham, Mass. 

Elm Kennels, Box 240, Westfield, N. J. 

Far View Kennels, Dougan Hills, S. I. 

Flour City Kennels, Rochester, N. Y. 

Glendyne Kennels, Bristol, R. I. 

Glenwood Kennels, Taunton, Mass. 

Hornell-Harmony Kennels, Covert, N. Y. 

Hempstead Farm Kennels, Hemsptead, L. I. 

Halfpenny Brook Kennels, Glens Falls, N. Y. 

Hospice Kennels, Arlington, N. Y. 

Hudson River Kennels, Yonkers, N. Y. 

Item Kennels, 1954 North nth St., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Killarney Kennels, 179 State St., Chicago, 111. 

Kilmarnock Collie Kennels, Box 1463, Boston, Mass. 

Kildare Kennels, Box 1028, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Lake Shore Kennels, 418 Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111. 

Lothian Kennels, Stepney, Conn. 

Mount Royal Kennels, Cote St., St. Antoine, Montreal, Canada. 

Mohawk Indianola Kennels, Auburn Park, 111. 

McBeth Kennels, Massilon, Ohio. 

Nahmke Kennels, East Patchouge, L. I. 

North Fields Yorkshire Kennels, Salem, Mass. 

Oriole Kennels, Youngstown, Ohio. 

Park Kennels, 220 Canal St., Providence, R. I. 

River View Kennels, 329 East 34th St., New York City. 

Retnor Kennels, 173 Fifth Ave., New York City. 

Rosecroft Kennels, 102 Chambers St., New York City. 

Rochelle Kennels, Box 862, New Rochelle, N. Y. 

Rockland Kennels, Nanuet, N. Y. 



SOME OF OUR DOG BREEDERS. 65 

Regent Kennels, Cotonsville, Baltimore County, Md. • 

Rockingham Kennels, 1263 Broadway, New York City. 

Sunset Kennels, Bolingbroke, Ga. 

Sea Moss Kennels, Glencoe, 111. 

Schoonhooven Kennels, Black Rock, Conn. 

Somerset Kennels, Bernardsville, N. J. 

Seminole Kennels, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. 

St. Cloud Kennels, West Farm, N. Y. 

Tunlaw Kennels, 2817 Q St., Washington, D. C. 

Tiot Kennels, Norwood, Mass. 

Wyoming Kennels, Melrose, Mass. 

W^ilton Kennels, 26 Chambers St., New York City. 

Wentworth Kennels, 716 Genesee St., Utica, N. Y. 

Woodhaven Kennels, 7 East 53d St., New York City. 

Woodland Kennels, Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. 

Woodbury Kennels, 135 South 8th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Woodale Kennels, Woodside, Troy, N. Y. 

Westminster Kennel Club, Babylno, L. L 



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